Guys, that last Walker!
Ugh! It BROKE me!
I can't wait for next weeks!
Well anyway, here's a Coda for the episode.

This was supposed to be more angsty than it is but I started writing it and realized it was almost fluff and that's huge for me.

Anyway, please enjoy!

Thanks to Pricelesstrashpanda for reading it 3

Enjoy!

~TH~

He'd forced the tears to stop. He was in shock. Functioning. But shock nonetheless. He looked in the bathroom mirror, splashing

water on his face. He looked at the bathroom door, no lock. He'd be fine. Just splash some water. He'd be fine.

He'd known deep in his gut that something wasn't right. He'd known. But he'd let himself believe, he'd even prayed, that everything was over. They caught the killer. And it was the killer. Everyone had told him it was the killer. He hadn't believed them but finally. Finally. He'd allowed himself to believe. But no. He was wrong. Or right. Either way Emily's killer was still out there. And he could come back.

He splashed more water on his face, hoping to wash away the tear stains while he worked to calm his breathing. He cleared his throat, trying to choke down any resounding sobs. His eyes were red but they tended to be anyway. Hopefully no one would notice. If they did they'd probably just assume it was due to the high school dance being Emily's type of thing.

Grabbing some of the cheap paper towels, he scrubbed his face down. There. He looked... respectable. Enough. Cordell gave a final cough, nodded to his reflection, and exited the bathroom.

Stella was waiting for him when he walked into the gym. "Dad, can we go home. Like now."

Cordell didn't know what had happened with Trevor but aside from the tremor in her voice, her eyes spoke of pain and betrayal. The dad in him wanted to go find Trevor and find out what he'd done to his little girl. But every other part of him was so, so tired he couldn't muster enough energy to be angry. Not his usual loud anger at least. Just the deep simmering ache that he thought had finally dissipated and now was sparking, causing his brittle soul to catch flame at record speed.

"Yeah, baby, we can go. Where's your brother?" She nodded towards where August was leaning against the wall, clearly intending to be 'cool' as he talked to Ruby.

"August!" he called across the gym. His son looked up and Cordell nodded towards the door. He saw the flicker of disappointment in Auggie's face but couldn't muster up the energy to care.

The three of them headed to the car together and Cordell's hands were shaking so bad he wished that there was someone else able to drive. He had to hold it together. Just a little while longer and he could completely fall apart.

The ride home was... awkward. Stella was staring out the window, he thought her eyes were red but he hoped not. He wanted to be there for her but he didn't know if he'd be able to be what she needed. August was oblivious. He was typing happily on his phone occasionally laughing and reading out whatever text Ruby had just sent him.

They got home and his plan was to make sure the kids got to bed and then lock himself in his bedroom. He couldn't. He just couldn't do anything right now. August ran up the stairs as soon as they got in the house and Stella let out a laugh. Her voice held a broken quality when she spoke. "His phone is almost dead and he's afraid he'll miss a text from Ruby." It ended with a sniffle and Cordell closed his eyes.

"Is everything okay, Stell?" He may not have been a husband anymore, but he was still a father. And he wasn't going to lose all the progress he had made because he was having a bad night. A really bad night.

She sniffled, wiping under her eye. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I-I'm just tired."

"Okay," he said with a small smile. He should probably push. But if she didn't want to offer any information, he wasn't going to fight her for it.

"I'm going to head to bed."

"Okay. Night, Stella. Love you."

She went up two stairs before stopping. Without turning her back she let out a quiet breath. "Dad, can I- can I talk to you about something."

"Of course Stell." He said quietly. "You wanna sit down?"

She nodded, coming back down and sitting on the couch. Cordell sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her. Stella leaned into him and he began rubbing circles on her arm.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Ther-there's something about Trevor. I didn't find out 'til tonight but... I- I think you should probably know." Cordell was hoping this was something minor. Some highschool disagreement. Like that Trevor had dated some friend that Stella was no longer on speaking terms with. Something in his gut told him it wasn't.

"What is it, baby?"

She let out a quiet sob and Cordell brought her closer to him. "If I say it, it makes it real." she murmured into his jacket.

He couldn't stop the breathy laugh from escaping. "Yeah, but it might make you feel better." Or not. He hadn't really stuck around to find out if well... Anyone felt better after tonight. He certainly didn't.

"Trevor he... his name. It's not Trevor Strand. It's... Trevor West."

And Cordell's heart stopped. "Okay." He said quietly. West wasn't an uncommon last name. It didn't mean anything.

"His dad's name is... Is Clint. Clint West. And he knows who you are."

Cordell couldn't breathe. His hands stopped moving as he sucked in a breath.

"I'm so sorry, Dad. I didn't know. I swear I didn't know. I just found out tonight because I found his visitor badge!" She started crying harder and Cordell wanted to comfort her. He really did but his heart was beating out of his chest and he wasn't sure if he had breathed at all since the words left her mouth. "Dad?" She whispered.

"It's okay. It's okay, Stell, I'm not mad at you. It's not your fault."

"But he never would have met you if it wasn't for me! What if something... happens. Is this going to make you have to leave again?"

He knew he was shaking and he willed his arms to stay steady as he held his daughter tighter. "No, no, it's okay. We don't know he wouldn't have met me anyway. And I don't see how this changes anything. He's in jail. Even if he knows, he's gonna be in jail for a long time."

"But Trevor's not." Her voice held such real fear that in the moment, he wanted to throw Trevor in his own cell, if not flat out kill him on the spot. No one was allowed to make his little girl sound like.

"It's gonna be okay, Stella. He's just a kid. I've taken out worse baddies than a highschool kid."

"What if he comes after you. Didn't- didn't his mom die when you-" She didn't finish but he knew what she was saying. What if he blames you? What if he thinks his mom died because of you?

Cordell had the sudden flash of last week's soccer game. Trevor standing over him with the gun. Hearing the name "Duke" and convincing himself he was hearing things. That it was just the heat of the moment. That there was no way this kid had just called him his undercover name. But he had. And he hadn't shot him. But he had thought about it.

"Look at me." He said in place of all of his own fears. "We'll take care of this, okay? Just stay away. If he tries to talk to you in person, you call me or your Uncle Lliam. If you can't get ahold of us call Micki or even Trey, understand?"

She nodded before burrowing further into him. "I don't want him to hurt you because I let him in." And Cordell's heart shattered. He had never wanted his kids to feel the blame for the danger of his job. Emily had helped there. Helped keep the Ranger and the Father separate. But since she died that line had become blurred and the truth was there was no way to fix it. Not now.

"He won't. We'll take care of it. He may not even be after me." The picture of him with the gun flashed back into his mind. But he hadn't pulled the trigger. He'd had his chance. He could have taken the shot and said it was an accident. He hadn't.

"But what if he is? What if it's my fault-?"

"Stella. Nothing that has to do with my job is your fault."

"But I let him in-"

"And I didn't notice. That's on me. None of this is your fault. He lied to you. That's on him and on me for not checking. None of this is your fault. Understand?" She nodded against him.

"Just don't- don't die. Please."

Cordell thought briefly of Emily. Of the pain of losing her. Of the fact that her killer was still out there. Of what his kids went through in that missing year without him.

"I won't, baby. I promise."

And this was one promise he intended to keep.

~TH~

Let me know what you think!
I actually like the way this turned out.
And I can't believe I finished it.
Like I think I've started a Coda for every episode that has aired. This is only the second that has made it online lol.

Like I said, this was supposed to be a lot more angsty and probably end with Cordell being a lot more of a wreck, but, Stella and Walker are so cute that it just ended there and I was okay with it.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! There are simply not enough Walker fics in existence.

See you guys soon!

God bless,
Jamie